• News by AUN News correspondent
• Thursday, April 06, 2023
• AUN News – ISSN: 2949-8090

Summary:

• The decision will “further undermine humanitarian partners’ capacity to support the population, especially the most vulnerable such as women and girls,” according to Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan.

• No other government in the history of the UN has ever attempted to forbid women from working for the Organization only because they are female.

• They characterised it as being “wholly against the core values and principles” of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as being illegal discrimination and a direct attack on women. 

• Risk to all Afghan livesThey cautioned that the most recent prohibition will make it harder to provide vital aid to millions of Afghans who are in need of immediate assistance, with women and girls suffering the most.

• The Taliban, according to the Human Rights Council-appointed experts, “continues to target, exclude, and isolate women and girls in Afghan society and denies women the right to work in many professions in Afghanistan, endangering the lives of all Afghans and the future of the nation.

The decision will “further undermine humanitarian partners’ capacity to support the population, especially the most vulnerable such as women and girls,” according to Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan.

Dr. Alakbarov stated that “the world cannot abandon the Afghan people at this precarious time” before pleading with the international community “not to punish the Afghan people further by withholding critical funding.”

High-ranking UN officials have denounced the most recent Taliban decision, starting with Secretary-General António Guterres. Amina Mohammed, the deputy head of the UN, promised on Wednesday that the UN would keep working with the Taliban to find a solution.

A bleak precedent

The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) stated in a statement on Wednesday that Special Representative Roza Otunbayeva was working to overturn the most recent Taliban order by contacting authorities at the highest level possible, as well as other Member States, the donor community, and humanitarian partners.

No other government in the history of the UN has ever attempted to forbid women from working for the Organization only because they are female. According to Ms. Otunbayeva, this judgement “represents an assault on women, the core values of the UN, and international law.”

Largest assistance effort

Afghanistan will have a record 28.3 million people in need of aid by 2023, and a $4.6 billion humanitarian appeal has been made. Additionally, with less than 5% of worldwide funding, it has the lowest funding of any UN programme.

According to the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Kabul, “while we continue to engage with the Taliban de-facto authorities to find a solution to these decrees, we urge the international community not to punish the Afghan people further by withholding critical funding.”

“Despite the extremely difficult conditions, national and international NGOs have continued to implement initiatives over the past three months, providing life-saving support to millions of people through aid organisations.

Maintain the lifeline

Dr. Alakbarov declared that because the populace has already suffered so much, it would be impermissible to cause them more suffering by denying them access to a crucial humanitarian lifeline.

Taliban authorities have enacted a number of progressively repressive policies over the past 20 months with the aim of limiting the participation of women and girls in all spheres of social, economic, and political life.

Rights advocates demand the Taliban change course.

On Thursday, a sizable group of UN-appointed independent human rights experts asked that the Taliban’s prohibition against Afghan women working for the UN be immediately lifted.

They characterised it as being “wholly against the core values and principles” of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as being illegal discrimination and a direct attack on women. (UDHR).

Risk to all Afghan lives

They cautioned that the most recent prohibition will make it harder to provide vital aid to millions of Afghans who are in need of immediate assistance, with women and girls suffering the most.

The Taliban, according to the Human Rights Council-appointed experts, “continues to target, exclude, and isolate women and girls in Afghan society and denies women the right to work in many professions in Afghanistan, endangering the lives of all Afghans and the future of the nation.”

The Taliban is once again exhibiting its blatant disrespect for the rights and welfare of women, as well as the lengths to which they will go to exclude women from all spheres of public life and deprive them of their dignity.

Lift restrictions right away

“Targeting women and girls and depriving them of their fundamental rights because they are women increases concern about gender persecution, a crime against humanity, and those responsible must be held accountable,” they stated.Their joint statement continued, “We call on the de facto authorities to immediately lift the bans on women working with national and international NGOs and the United Nations.”

It is the responsibility of special rapporteurs and other impartial specialists to keep track of and report on particular thematic concerns or international circumstances. They are not employed by the UN and are not paid for their efforts.